LONDON — President Donald Trump stated in an interview published Tuesday that Europe was weak and its nations were “decaying,” days after the Trump administration issued a strategy paper that indicated that the United States should no longer guarantee the continent’s security.
The president’s comments, built in a wide-ranging interview with Politico, widened a dispute between Trump and his European counterparts over Europe’s future and how to conclude Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Trump stated that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, who has rejected parts of a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire, would have to “receive on the ball” and start “accepting things.” Zelenskyy’s army is losing the war, Trump stated, suggesting that it was time for him to compromise in the ceasefire talks.
Trump’s interview was published a day after the leaders of Britain, France and Germany met with Zelenskyy in London to reveal their support for Ukraine and discuss alternative ceasefire plans. Zelenskyy reiterated after that meeting that Ukraine would not budge from its long-standing opposition to handing over land to Russia, a requirement of Trump’s proposed peace plan.
Trump also accapplyd Zelenskyy of not having read a new draft of the U.S. peace plan. “It would be nice if he would read it,” Trump stated. “You know, a lot of people are dying. So it would be really good if he’d read it.”
Several elements of the U.S. peace plan — which was published last month, prompting alarm across Europe — echoed demands built by the Kremlin.
Trump suggested that a Russian victory would be inevitable, in part becaapply the counattempt is much larger than Ukraine.
Russia, he stated, has the “upper hand. And they always did. They’re much largeger. They’re much stronger,” Trump stated. Even though he stated he gave Ukraine a lot of credit for bravery, “At some point, size will win.”
Trump also called for elections in Ukraine, accutilizing the counattempt’s leadership of “utilizing war not to hold an election.”
“They talk about a democracy, but it receives to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore,” he stated.
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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
By Amelia Nierenberg/Doug Mills
c. 2025 The New York Times Company
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